In this episode of The Engineering Career Coach Podcast, I interview Geoffrey Tumlin, CEO of Mouthpiece Consulting and Author of Stop Talking , Start Communicating who balances research, experience, and humor to draw attention to the increasingly troublesome disconnect between our higher-order communication needs and our lower-order communication practices, while pointing a straightforward and compelling path to more productive and meaningful communication.

“Take advantage of every opportunity to practice your communication skills so that when important occasions arise, you will have the gift, the style, the sharpness, the clarity, and the emotions to affect other people.” ~ Jim Rohn

In the Take Action Today segment at the end of the show, Geoff will give you an exercise to help you create an effective communication style.

2) The evolution of communication. Our increasing reliance on, and preference for, communication that is expedient and convenient, like email, text messaging, or social media posting, is dangerously eroding our more difficult and time-intensive communication abilities.

3) How technology is limiting your ability to:

arguing sensibly,

resolving conflict,

persuading others,

bargaining, and

providing emotional support.

4) How to be a we-based instead of an I-based communicator. (Remember you can’t communicate by yourself) our choices create very individualistic things, by being collective in our communication we encourage reflection and squeeze out deliberation among peers.

5) Be an experimenter. By thinking about every interaction , you are able to reflect and deliberate about how you communicate and improve your skills from every experience.

6) Be aware of what your listener will care about. When you open your mouth: what’s it gonna mean to them or what problem does it solve?